Differences among KVM, Xen, VMware, and QEMU can be found at the [http://www.linux-kvm.org/page/FAQ#General_KVM_information KVM FAQ].

Differences among KVM, Xen, VMware, and QEMU can be found at the [http://www.linux-kvm.org/page/FAQ#General_KVM_information KVM FAQ].

−

+

KVM is used alongside [[Libvirt]] for better management with "virsh" command set. Check [[Libvirt]] for more details.

== Get the packages ==

== Get the packages ==

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First, you need to add your user account into the {{Ic|kvm}} group to use the {{ic|/dev/kvm}} device.

First, you need to add your user account into the {{Ic|kvm}} group to use the {{ic|/dev/kvm}} device.

# gpasswd -a <Your_Login_Name> kvm

# gpasswd -a <Your_Login_Name> kvm

+

{{Note|If you use systemd and are a local user, this is not necessary, as access is now granted by systemd/udev.}}

Secondly, you have to choose one of the following depending on the manufacturer of your CPU.

Secondly, you have to choose one of the following depending on the manufacturer of your CPU.

−

* If you have Intel's VT-x extensions, modprobe the {{Ic|kvm-intel}} module.

+

* If you have Intel's VT-x extensions, modprobe the {{Ic|kvm_intel}} module.

−

# modprobe kvm-intel

+

# modprobe kvm_intel

* If you have AMD's AMD-V (code name "Pacifica") extensions, modprobe the {{Ic|kvm-amd}} module.

* If you have AMD's AMD-V (code name "Pacifica") extensions, modprobe the {{Ic|kvm-amd}} module.

−

# modprobe kvm-amd

+

# modprobe kvm_amd

−

If modprobing {{Ic|kvm-intel}} or {{Ic|kvm-amd}} fails but modprobing {{Ic|kvm}} succeeds, (and {{ic|lscpu}} claims that hardware acceleration is supported), check your BIOS settings. Some vendors (especially laptop vendors) disable these processor extensions by default. To determine whether there's no hardware support or there is but the extensions are disabled in BIOS, the output from {{Ic|dmesg}} after having failed to modprobe will tell.

+

If modprobing {{Ic|kvm_intel}} or {{Ic|kvm_amd}} fails but modprobing {{Ic|kvm}} succeeds, (and {{ic|lscpu}} claims that hardware acceleration is supported), check your BIOS settings. Some vendors (especially laptop vendors) disable these processor extensions by default. To determine whether there's no hardware support or there is but the extensions are disabled in BIOS, the output from {{Ic|dmesg}} after having failed to modprobe will tell.

−

If you want these modules to persist, add them to {{ic|/etc/rc.conf}} or {{ic|/etc/modules-load.d/kvm.conf}}.

+

If you want these modules to persist, see [[Kernel_modules#Loading]].

== How to use KVM ==

== How to use KVM ==

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(hd0) /dev/vda

(hd0) /dev/vda

−

{{Note|The following may be outdated since a new official installation ISO has been released (2011.08.19).}}

+

{{Note|The following may be outdated since official installation ISO 2011.08.19. The repositories now offer GRUB v2.}}

Windows will detect the fake disk and try to find a driver for it. If it fails, go to Device Manager, locate the SCSI drive with an exclamation mark icon (should be open), click "Update driver" and browse for the proper directory on the virtual CD-ROM.

+

If you have problems booting windows.img ISO image, or the virtio cd drivers not being detected, use this command.

Windows will detect the fake disk and try to find a driver for it. If it fails, go to Device Manager, locate the SCSI drive with an exclamation mark icon (should be open), click "Update driver" and select the virtual CD-ROM. Don't forget to mark the checkbox which says to search for directories recursively.

When the installation is successful, you can turn off the virtual machine and launch it again, now with the {{Ic|virtio}} driver.

When the installation is successful, you can turn off the virtual machine and launch it again, now with the {{Ic|virtio}} driver.

−

$ qemu-kvm -drive file=windows.img,if=virtio,boot=on -m 512 -vga std

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$ qemu-kvm -drive file=windows.img,if=virtio -m 512 -vga std

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+

{{Note|If you encounter the Blue Screen of Death, make sure you did not forget the {{Ic|-m}} parameter, and that you do not boot with virtio instead of ide for the system drive before drivers are installed.}}

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{{Note|The flag "boot&#61;on" was removed due to newer versions no need it anymore.}}

{{Note|If you encounter the Blue Screen of Death, make sure you did not forget the {{Ic|-m}} parameter.}}

+

Then install the virtio drivers from the disk you downloaded; Go to the Device Manager, locate the network adapter with an exclamation mark icon (should be open), click "Update driver" and select the virtual CD-ROM. Don't forget to mark the checkbox which says to search for directories recursively.

=== Preparing a FreeBSD guest ===

=== Preparing a FreeBSD guest ===

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Kernel Samepage Merging (KSM) is a feature of the Linux kernel introduced in the 2.6.32 kernel. KSM allows for an application to register with the kernel to have its pages merged with other processes that also register to have their pages merged. For KVM, the KSM mechanism allows for guest virtual machines to share pages with each other. In an environment where many of the guest operating systems are similar, this can result in significant memory savings.

Kernel Samepage Merging (KSM) is a feature of the Linux kernel introduced in the 2.6.32 kernel. KSM allows for an application to register with the kernel to have its pages merged with other processes that also register to have their pages merged. For KVM, the KSM mechanism allows for guest virtual machines to share pages with each other. In an environment where many of the guest operating systems are similar, this can result in significant memory savings.

−

There should be a {{ic|/sys/kernel/mm/ksm/}} directory containing several files. You can turn KSM on or off by echoing a {{ic|1}} or {{ic|0}} to {{ic|/sys/kernel/mm/ksm/run}}:

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There should be a {{ic|/sys/kernel/mm/ksm/}} directory containing several files. You can turn KSM on or off by echoing a {{ic|1}} or {{ic|0}} (respectively) to {{ic|/sys/kernel/mm/ksm/run}}:

# echo 1 > /sys/kernel/mm/ksm/run

# echo 1 > /sys/kernel/mm/ksm/run

Or set it up by creating the file {{ic|/etc/tmpfiles.d/ksm.conf}}:

Or set it up by creating the file {{ic|/etc/tmpfiles.d/ksm.conf}}:

−

# w /sys/kernel/mm/ksm/run - - - - 1

+

w /sys/kernel/mm/ksm/run - - - - 1

If KSM is running, and there are pages to be merged (i.e. more than one similar VM is running), then {{ic|/sys/kernel/mm/ksm/pages_shared}} should be non-zero. From the kernel documentation in {{ic|Documentation/vm/ksm.txt}}:

If KSM is running, and there are pages to be merged (i.e. more than one similar VM is running), then {{ic|/sys/kernel/mm/ksm/pages_shared}} should be non-zero. From the kernel documentation in {{ic|Documentation/vm/ksm.txt}}:

The effectiveness of KSM and MADV_MERGEABLE is shown in /sys/kernel/mm/ksm/:

The effectiveness of KSM and MADV_MERGEABLE is shown in /sys/kernel/mm/ksm/:

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== Enable HugePages ==

== Enable HugePages ==

You may also want to enable hugepages to improve the preformance of your virtual machine.

You may also want to enable hugepages to improve the preformance of your virtual machine.

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With an up to date Arch Linux and a running KVM you probably have already everything you need. Check if you have the directory {{ic|/dev/hugepages}}. If not create it.

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With an up to date Arch Linux and a running KVM you probably already have everything you need. Check if you have the directory {{ic|/dev/hugepages}}. If not create it.

Now we need the right permissions to use this directory. Check if the group {{ic|kvm}} exist and if you are member of this group. This should be the case if you already have a running virtual machine.

Now we need the right permissions to use this directory. Check if the group {{ic|kvm}} exist and if you are member of this group. This should be the case if you already have a running virtual machine.

{{hc|$ getent group kvm|

{{hc|$ getent group kvm|

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Add to your {{ic|/etc/fstab}}:

Add to your {{ic|/etc/fstab}}:

hugetlbfs /dev/hugepages hugetlbfs mode=1770,gid=78 0 0

hugetlbfs /dev/hugepages hugetlbfs mode=1770,gid=78 0 0

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Of course must the gid match the one form the {{ic|kvm}} group. The mode of {{ic|1770}} allows anyone in the group to create files but not unlink or rename each other's files. Make sure {{ic|/dev/hugepages}} is mounted properly:

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Of course the gid must match that of the {{ic|kvm}} group. The mode of {{ic|1770}} allows anyone in the group to create files but not unlink or rename each other's files. Make sure {{ic|/dev/hugepages}} is mounted properly:

{{hc|# umount /dev/hugepages

{{hc|# umount /dev/hugepages

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HugePages_Surp: 0

HugePages_Surp: 0

}}

}}

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Now that everything seems to work you can enable hugepages by default if you like. Either add to your {{ic|/etc/rc.local}}:

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Now that everything seems to work you can enable hugepages by default if you like. Add to your {{ic|/etc/sysctl.conf}}:

Bridged networking is used when you want your VM to be on the same network as your host machine. This will allow it to get a static or DHCP IP address on your network, and then you can access it using that IP address from anywhere on your LAN. The preferred method for setting up bridged networking for KVM is to use the {{Pkg|netcfg}} package. You will also need to install {{Pkg|bridge-utils}}.

Bridged networking is used when you want your VM to be on the same network as your host machine. This will allow it to get a static or DHCP IP address on your network, and then you can access it using that IP address from anywhere on your LAN. The preferred method for setting up bridged networking for KVM is to use the {{Pkg|netcfg}} package. You will also need to install {{Pkg|bridge-utils}}.

For more information, see: [[Netcfg Tips#Configuring a bridge for use with virtual machines (VMs)]]

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You can follow this page to configure the bridge: [[Libvirt#Bridged Networking]]

=== Additional notes ===

=== Additional notes ===

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Other information can be found here: [[QEMU#Tap_Networking_with_QEMU]] and [[QEMU#Networking_with_VDE2]]

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Other information can be found here: [[QEMU#Tap Networking with QEMU]] and [[QEMU#Networking with VDE2]].

If you are using {{Pkg|iptables}}, it is recommended for performance and security reasons to disable the firewall on the bridge:

If you are using {{Pkg|iptables}}, it is recommended for performance and security reasons to disable the firewall on the bridge:

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# sysctl -p /etc/sysctl.conf

# sysctl -p /etc/sysctl.conf

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See the [http://wiki.libvirt.org/page/Networking#Creating_network_initscripts libvirt wiki] and [https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=512206 Fedora bug 512206]. If you get errors by sysctl during init (boot) about non-existing files, add {{ic|bridge}} to the MODULES array in {{ic|/etc/rc.conf}} (otherwise, this module gets loaded automatically during network setup, which is after sysctl calls).

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See the [http://wiki.libvirt.org/page/Networking#Creating_network_initscripts libvirt wiki] and [https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=512206 Fedora bug 512206]. If you get errors by sysctl during init (boot) about non-existing files, make the {{ic|bridge}} module load at boot. See [[Kernel_modules#Loading]].

Alternatively, you can configure {{Pkg|iptables}} to allow all traffic to be forwarded across the bridge by adding a rule like this:

Alternatively, you can configure {{Pkg|iptables}} to allow all traffic to be forwarded across the bridge by adding a rule like this:

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$ virsh autostart <domain>

$ virsh autostart <domain>

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To disable autostarting:

To disable autostarting:

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Note VMs started by QEMU or KVM from the command line are not then manageable by virt-manager.

Note VMs started by QEMU or KVM from the command line are not then manageable by virt-manager.

−

For an alternative check here: [[QEMU#Starting_QEMU_virtual_machines_on_boot]]

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For an alternative check [[QEMU#Starting_QEMU_virtual_machines_on_boot]].

== Tips and tricks ==

== Tips and tricks ==

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=== Live snapshots ===

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Since {{pkg|qemu-kvm}} 1.1 and {{pkg|libvirt}} 0.10 there is a slightly less talked-about feature called external snapshotting that is still being developed and improved upstream. It allows you to take a live snapshot of a virtual machine without turning it off. The whole process works at block level by a series of steps utilizing QEMU's snapshot_blkdev/blockdev-snapshot-sync feature. The newer qemu-kvm uses the same methodology except it prefers QEMU's monitor feature instead. Currently it only works with qcow2 and raw file based images.

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+

Once a snapshot is created, KVM attaches that new snapshotted image to virtual machine that is used as its new block device, storing any new data directly to it while the original disk image is taken offline which you can easily copy or backup. After that you can merge the snapshotted image to the original image, again without shutting down your virtual machine.

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Here's how it works.

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Current running vm

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# virsh list --all

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Id Name State

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----------------------------------------------------

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3 archey running

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List all its current images

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# virsh domblklist archey

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Target Source

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------------------------------------------------

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vda /vms/archey.img

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Notice the image file properties

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# qemu-img info /vms/archey.img

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image: /vms/archey.img

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file format: qcow2

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virtual size: 50G (53687091200 bytes)

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disk size: 2.1G

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cluster_size: 65536

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Create a disk-only snapshot. The switch {{ic|--atomic}} makes sure that the VM is not modified if snapshot creation fails.

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# create-snapshot-as archey snapshot1 --disk-only --atomic

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List if you want to see the snapshots

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# virsh snapshot-list archey

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Name Creation Time State

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------------------------------------------------------------

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snapshot1 2012-10-21 17:12:57 -0700 disk-snapshot

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Notice the new snapshot image created by virsh and its image properties. It weighs just a few MiBs and is linked to its original "backing image/chain".

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# qemu-img info /vms/archey.snapshot1

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image: /vms/archey.snapshot1

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file format: qcow2

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virtual size: 50G (53687091200 bytes)

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disk size: 18M

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cluster_size: 65536

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backing file: /vms/archey.img

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At this point, you can go ahead and copy the original image with 'cp -sparse=true' or 'rsync -S'.

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Then you can merge the original image back into the snapshot.

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# virsh blockpull --domain archey --path /vms/archey.snapshot1

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+

Now that you have pulled the blocks out of original image, the file {{ic|/vms/archey.snapshot1}} becomes the new disk image. Check its disk size to see what it means. After that is done, the original image {{ic|/vms/archey.img}} and the snapshot metadata can be deleted safely. The 'virsh blockcommit' would work opposite to 'blockpull' but it seems to be currently under development in qemu-kvm 1.3 (including snapshot-revert feature), scheduled to be released sometime next year.

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+

This new feature of KVM will certainly come handy to the people who like to take frequent live backups without risking corruption of the file system.

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=== Poor Man's Networking ===

=== Poor Man's Networking ===

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* Setup authentication

* Setup authentication

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See: [[SSH]] for the setup of SSH, especially [[SSH#Forwarding_Other_Ports]]

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See: [[SSH]] for the setup of SSH, especially [[SSH#Forwarding_Other_Ports]].

When using the default user network stack, the host is reachable at address 10.0.2.2.

When using the default user network stack, the host is reachable at address 10.0.2.2.

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{{poor writing|Usage of {{ic|/etc/rc.local}} is discouraged. This should be a proper [[systemd]] service file.}}

If everything works and you can SSH into the host, simply add something like the following to your {{ic|/etc/rc.local}}

If everything works and you can SSH into the host, simply add something like the following to your {{ic|/etc/rc.local}}

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Same goes for your hard drive:

Same goes for your hard drive:

-drive file='disk.img',if=virtio

-drive file='disk.img',if=virtio

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For more about paravitualisation (virtio) see: [[KVM#Paravirtualized_guests_.28virtio.29|this section]].

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For more about paravitualisation (virtio) see [[KVM#Paravirtualized_guests_.28virtio.29|this page]].

Revision as of 03:27, 15 November 2012

zh-CN:KVMKVM, Kernel-based Virtual Machine, is a hypervisor built right into the Linux kernel. It is similar to Xen in purpose but much simpler to get running. To start using the hypervisor, just load the appropriate kvm kernel modules and the hypervisor is up. As with Xen's full virtualization, in order for KVM to work, you must have a processor that supports Intel's VT-x extensions or AMD's AMD-V extensions.

Using KVM, one can run multiple virtual machines running unmodified GNU/Linux, Windows, or any other operating system. (See Guest Support Status). Each virtual machine has private virtualized hardware: a network card, disk, graphics adapter, etc. See KVM Howto.

Differences among KVM, Xen, VMware, and QEMU can be found at the KVM FAQ.
KVM is used alongside Libvirt for better management with "virsh" command set. Check Libvirt for more details.

Get the packages

Arch Linux kernels provide the appropriate kernel modules to support KVM.
You can check if your kernel supports KVM with the following command (assuming your kernel is built with CONFIG_IKCONFIG_PROC):

$ zgrep KVM /proc/config.gz

KVM requires that the virtual machine host's processor has virtualization support (named VT-x for Intel processors and AMD-V for AMD processors). You can check whether your processor supports hardware virtualization with the following command:

$ lscpu

You processor supports virtualization only if there is a line telling you so.

You can also run:

$ grep -E "(vmx|svm)" --color=always /proc/cpuinfo

If nothing is displayed after running that command, then your processor does not support hardware virtualization, and you will not be able to use QEMU-KVM.

KVM also requires a modified QEMU to launch and manage virtual machines. You can choose one of the following according to your needs:

If you also need to use QEMU, you can choose to install qemu instead, which conflicts with the qemu-kvm package. However, qemu -enable-kvm takes advantage of this technology.

Note:qemu-kvm is a fork of qemu which will eventually disappear when all its features become part of qemu.

Setup kernel modules

First, you need to add your user account into the kvm group to use the /dev/kvm device.

# gpasswd -a <Your_Login_Name> kvm

Note: If you use systemd and are a local user, this is not necessary, as access is now granted by systemd/udev.

Secondly, you have to choose one of the following depending on the manufacturer of your CPU.

If you have Intel's VT-x extensions, modprobe the kvm_intel module.

# modprobe kvm_intel

If you have AMD's AMD-V (code name "Pacifica") extensions, modprobe the kvm-amd module.

# modprobe kvm_amd

If modprobing kvm_intel or kvm_amd fails but modprobing kvm succeeds, (and lscpu claims that hardware acceleration is supported), check your BIOS settings. Some vendors (especially laptop vendors) disable these processor extensions by default. To determine whether there's no hardware support or there is but the extensions are disabled in BIOS, the output from dmesg after having failed to modprobe will tell.

Running the system

Note: you may want to assign multiple CPUs to the guest by using -smp X (where X is the number of CPUs). The maximum number of assigned CPUs for one guest is 16.

Note: The default amount of main memory assigned to KVM guests is 128 MB. If that is not sufficient, add the -m argument and the desired amount of main memory specified in megabytes (e.g. -m 1024). Also note that recent Windows operating systems (tested with Windows Vista and Windows 7) require the qcow2 disk image format. Other disk image formats may give a 0x80070057 error during the installation.

GUI tool

If the qemu package has been installed, you can use a GUI tool, such as qtemu for simple use or qemu-launcher for particle control, to manage your virtual machine.

You need to change qemu in the configure item "QEMU start command" to qemu-kvm or leave the "QEMU start command" as qemu and append -enable-kvm to the additional start options. With newer versions of qemu, it might not be necessary to append -enable-kvm as the qemu executable will detect that KVM is running and start in the correct mode.

If you start your VM with a GUI tool and installation is very slow, you should check for proper KVM support, as QEMU may be falling back to pure software emulation.

Paravirtualized guests (virtio)

KVM offers guests the ability to use paravirtualized block and network devices, which leads to better performance and lower overhead.
For Windows, a paravirtualized network driver can be obtained here.
FreeBSD has the ability to use virtio drivers since 10.0 (unreleased). A backport of the drivers are available in the port emulators/virtio-kmod for FreeBSD 8.3 and 9.0.

Preparing an (Arch) Linux guest

To use virtio devices after an Arch Linux guest has been installed, the following modules can be loaded in the guest: virtio, virtio_pci, virtio_blk, virtio_net, and virtio_ring (for 32-bit guests, the specific "virtio" module is not necessary).

If you want to boot from a virtio disk, the initial ramdisk must be rebuilt. Add the appropriate modules in /etc/mkinitcpio.conf like this:

MODULES="virtio_blk virtio_pci virtio_net"

and rebuild the initial ramdisk:

# mkinitcpio -p linux

Virtio disks are recognized with the prefix v (e.g. vda, vdb, etc.); therefore, changes must be made in at least /etc/fstab and /boot/grub/menu.lst when booting from a virtio disk. When using grub-pc which references disks by UUID's, nothing has to be done.

Edit or create /boot/grub/device.map:

(hd0) /dev/vda

Note: The following may be outdated since official installation ISO 2011.08.19. The repositories now offer GRUB v2.

To enable virtio at Arch Linux installation time, manual GRUB installation is required (for arch-release-media 2010.05).
Though AIF correctly detects the virtio disks and sets up the right prefixes, the /boot/grub/device.map file must be created before configuring the bootloader.

So when installing Arch Linux, you can install GRUB by switching to another virtual terminal (Template:Keypress) and running the following commands.

Windows will detect the fake disk and try to find a driver for it. If it fails, go to Device Manager, locate the SCSI drive with an exclamation mark icon (should be open), click "Update driver" and select the virtual CD-ROM. Don't forget to mark the checkbox which says to search for directories recursively.

When the installation is successful, you can turn off the virtual machine and launch it again, now with the virtio driver.

$ qemu-kvm -drive file=windows.img,if=virtio -m 512 -vga std

Note: If you encounter the Blue Screen of Death, make sure you did not forget the -m parameter, and that you do not boot with virtio instead of ide for the system drive before drivers are installed.

Note: The flag "boot=on" was removed due to newer versions no need it anymore.

Then install the virtio drivers from the disk you downloaded; Go to the Device Manager, locate the network adapter with an exclamation mark icon (should be open), click "Update driver" and select the virtual CD-ROM. Don't forget to mark the checkbox which says to search for directories recursively.

Preparing a FreeBSD guest

Install the emulators/virtio-kmod port if you are using FreeBSD 8.3 or later up until 10.0-CURRENT where they are included into the kernel. After installation, add the following to your /boot/loader.conf file:

And verify that /etc/fstab is consistent. If anything goes wrong, just boot into a rescue CD and copy /etc/fstab.bak back to /etc/fstab.

Resizing the image

Warning: Resizing an image containing an NTFS boot filesystem could make the VM installed on it unbootable. One solution, which is really tricky and for expert users only, is shown here along with a deep explanation of the problem.

Up-to-date way

Since version 0.13.0 of qemu, a new option has been added to qemu-img executable, the resize option. By this switch it is possible to resize a qcow2 image directly, with no need to pass through raw conversion. For example, this command will increase my_image.qcow2 image space by 10 Gigabytes

qemu-img resize my_image.qcow2 +10G

Old way

It is possible to increase the size of a qcow2 image later, at least with ext3. Convert it to a raw image, expand its size with dd, convert it back to qcow2, replace the partition with a larger one, do a fsck and resize the filesystem.

Enabling KSM

Kernel Samepage Merging (KSM) is a feature of the Linux kernel introduced in the 2.6.32 kernel. KSM allows for an application to register with the kernel to have its pages merged with other processes that also register to have their pages merged. For KVM, the KSM mechanism allows for guest virtual machines to share pages with each other. In an environment where many of the guest operating systems are similar, this can result in significant memory savings.

There should be a /sys/kernel/mm/ksm/ directory containing several files. You can turn KSM on or off by echoing a 1 or 0 (respectively) to /sys/kernel/mm/ksm/run:

# echo 1 > /sys/kernel/mm/ksm/run

Or set it up by creating the file /etc/tmpfiles.d/ksm.conf:

w /sys/kernel/mm/ksm/run - - - - 1

If KSM is running, and there are pages to be merged (i.e. more than one similar VM is running), then /sys/kernel/mm/ksm/pages_shared should be non-zero. From the kernel documentation in Documentation/vm/ksm.txt:

The effectiveness of KSM and MADV_MERGEABLE is shown in /sys/kernel/mm/ksm/:
pages_shared - how many shared unswappable kernel pages KSM is using
pages_sharing - how many more sites are sharing them i.e. how much saved
pages_unshared - how many pages unique but repeatedly checked for merging
pages_volatile - how many pages changing too fast to be placed in a tree
full_scans - how many times all mergeable areas have been scanned
A high ratio of pages_sharing to pages_shared indicates good sharing, but
a high ratio of pages_unshared to pages_sharing indicates wasted effort.
pages_volatile embraces several different kinds of activity, but a high
proportion there would also indicate poor use of madvise MADV_MERGEABLE.

An easy way to see how well KSM is performing is to simply print the contents of all the files in that directory.

Enable HugePages

You may also want to enable hugepages to improve the preformance of your virtual machine.
With an up to date Arch Linux and a running KVM you probably already have everything you need. Check if you have the directory /dev/hugepages. If not create it.
Now we need the right permissions to use this directory. Check if the group kvm exist and if you are member of this group. This should be the case if you already have a running virtual machine.

$ getent group kvm

kvm:x:78:USERNAMES

Add to your /etc/fstab:

hugetlbfs /dev/hugepages hugetlbfs mode=1770,gid=78 0 0

Of course the gid must match that of the kvm group. The mode of 1770 allows anyone in the group to create files but not unlink or rename each other's files. Make sure /dev/hugepages is mounted properly:

Now you can calculate how many hugepages you need. Check how large your hugepages are:

$ cat /proc/meminfo | grep Hugepagesize

Normally that should be 2048 kB ≙ 2 MB. Let's say you want to run your virtual machine with 1024 MB. 1024 / 2 = 512. Add a few extra so we can round this up to 550. Now tell your machine how many hugepages you want:

# echo 550 > /proc/sys/vm/nr_hugepages

If you had enough free memory you should see:

$ cat /proc/meminfo | grep HugePages_Total

HugesPages_Total: 550

If the number is smaller, close some applications or start your virtual machine with less memory (number_of_pages x 2):

Bridged Networking

Using netcfg

Bridged networking is used when you want your VM to be on the same network as your host machine. This will allow it to get a static or DHCP IP address on your network, and then you can access it using that IP address from anywhere on your LAN. The preferred method for setting up bridged networking for KVM is to use the netcfg package. You will also need to install bridge-utils.

Alternatively, you can configure iptables to allow all traffic to be forwarded across the bridge by adding a rule like this:

-I FORWARD -m physdev --physdev-is-bridged -j ACCEPT

Mouse integration

To prevent the mouse from being grabbed when clicking on the guest operating system's windows, add the option -usbdevice tablet. This means QEMU is able to report the mouse position without having to grab the mouse. This also overrides PS/2 mouse emulation when activated.

$ qemu-kvm -hda <Image_Name> -m 512 -vga std -usbdevice tablet

Mounting the QEMU image

There are many ways to mount partitions encapsulated in an image file or partition. One option is to use network block devices:

The first command merely lists the partitions detected in the image's partition table, while the second one maps them using the kernel's device mapper.
In order to remove the partition mapping again, the procedure is as follows:

# umount [/mnt/qemu]
$ kpartx -d [image.img]

Starting KVM virtual machines on boot up

If you use virt-manager and virsh as your VM tools then this is very simple. At the commandline to set a VM to autostart:

$ virsh autostart <domain>

To disable autostarting:

$ virsh autostart --disable <domain>

Virt-manager is equally easy having an autostart check box in the boot options of the VM.

Note VMs started by QEMU or KVM from the command line are not then manageable by virt-manager.

Tips and tricks

Live snapshots

Since qemu-kvm 1.1 and libvirt 0.10 there is a slightly less talked-about feature called external snapshotting that is still being developed and improved upstream. It allows you to take a live snapshot of a virtual machine without turning it off. The whole process works at block level by a series of steps utilizing QEMU's snapshot_blkdev/blockdev-snapshot-sync feature. The newer qemu-kvm uses the same methodology except it prefers QEMU's monitor feature instead. Currently it only works with qcow2 and raw file based images.

Once a snapshot is created, KVM attaches that new snapshotted image to virtual machine that is used as its new block device, storing any new data directly to it while the original disk image is taken offline which you can easily copy or backup. After that you can merge the snapshotted image to the original image, again without shutting down your virtual machine.

At this point, you can go ahead and copy the original image with 'cp -sparse=true' or 'rsync -S'.
Then you can merge the original image back into the snapshot.

# virsh blockpull --domain archey --path /vms/archey.snapshot1

Now that you have pulled the blocks out of original image, the file /vms/archey.snapshot1 becomes the new disk image. Check its disk size to see what it means. After that is done, the original image /vms/archey.img and the snapshot metadata can be deleted safely. The 'virsh blockcommit' would work opposite to 'blockpull' but it seems to be currently under development in qemu-kvm 1.3 (including snapshot-revert feature), scheduled to be released sometime next year.

This new feature of KVM will certainly come handy to the people who like to take frequent live backups without risking corruption of the file system.

Poor Man's Networking

Setting up bridged networking can be a bit of a hassle sometimes. If the sole purpose of the VM is experimentation, one strategy to connect the host and the guests is to use SSH tunneling.

The basic steps are as follows:

Setup an SSH server in the host OS

(optional) Create a designated user used for the tunneling (e.g. tunneluser)